If there’s one thing that connects Shreya Dev Dube’s films, it is that they are well shot and aesthetically pleasing. The award-winning cinematographer doesn’t have a signature style, she imprints upon every film she is involved in, whether it’s a film about visual stillness of deep emotions like Bittu (2021), or using black and white chiaroscuro for Catsticks (2019), or capturing the rustic western aesthetic of a rural world in Thar (2022). Now Shreya has turned a corner by doing her first big studio film, Ulajh. It is an espionage film with Janhvi Kapoor as the protagonist, produced by Junglee Pictures and directed by Sudhanshu Saria.
The girl who moves around with a 5-kilo camera on her shoulders to create art promises ripples and you will be hearing from her soon again. Below is our conversation with Shreya about shooting Ulajh and about her journey.
What made you want to pick up the script of Ulajh? This is your first time going from indie, small-budget projects to a big studio film; how did youapproach it? What were the conversations you had with director Sudhanshu Saria about the visual style and treatment of the film?
When I read the script of Ulajh, I got extremely excited. It evolved a little bit in the process because of the locations that we were shooting in. Sudhanshu slightly adapted it depending on the country we landed up making the world of Ulajh in. But the script was really beautiful. It is writ- ten by Parveez Shaikh and the dialogues by Atika Chohan. The script resonated with me as a woman living in a patriarchal society. The woman character in the film comes from an educated family, from a political background but gets into a sticky situation. I really love such characters who are somewhat anti-heros. Characters who have good intentions but who are constantly doing things wrong because of the circumstances. It was beautiful to celebrate a woman like this. Janhvi Kapoor has done a spectacular job as that character. She has created and recreated the characters so beautifully that a lot of women will be able to relate to it. She is strong and powerful in the film and Ulajh is a brave choice.
I love this genre of filmmaking so much since I have grown up watching it. It is a very exciting world for me to create cinematically; to think about the design of it. It was even more exciting when we decided to shoot it in London because I have been living in London on and off for ten years so I knew the city and country really well. It didn’t have a foreign perspective as far as the cinema- tographer is concerned. I already knew what the country’s aesthetics and nuances are like. My ex-partner is English and because of that I was able to have a point of view of someone who lives and belongs there. So the world feels very seamless and I hope I have been able to do that with the film. I hope I have done justice to both countries because we came back to shoot it in India after London.
What did you feed yourself with while working on Ulajh?
It was primarily the script that inspired me and gave me ideas. Once you see the film, you will understand that so many of women have really dealt with issues which the protagonist of Ulajh, Suhana Bhatia, goes through. That is the reason why I didn’t have to look outside the script in my own life to be able to connect or gather inspiration to create this world of Ulajh. Of course, visually there are films that I resonate with like Killing of a Sacred Deer. I really loved the way it was lit and how the characters could move inside the space where they were positioned. But otherwise, it was the script of Ulajh that kept us going and we built on that. Once you see the film you’ll realise that it is enough to be able to stitch something with.
What is it like to be a female cinematographer?
The job is so physically intensive...how do you prep for it? I wouldn’t do anything else just because of my gender. It is a job but of course, it is a physically taxing because you are on your feet 15-16 hours a day. So one does get tired since it is a strenuous job but it is definitely very rewarding. And it is very exciting to be able to create art.
We also heard you talk about shooting with Nick Powell for the anti-gravity for a sequence. How challenging was it?
Shooting with Nick Powell was absolutely fantastic. I learnt a lot on how you cover and design an action sequence; to creatively figure out lensing and designing on how a handheld action sequence occurs in a very tiny space with two very differently abled human beings in front of the camera. There are some very interesting action sequences in Ulajh which I would love the audience to watch.
What is the natural progression of a cinematographer’s career? Do you know what you want to do next?
I’m sure everyone has their own trajectory professionally depending on what they want to do. But I’ve always dabbled in production and producing my sister’s (Karishma Dev Dube) short films and some of my own smaller projects. Producing and cinematography sometimes goes hand in hand if you are into smaller projects. There is no hard and fast rule that you have to make your own film as a cinematographer because for me cinematography quenches my hunger so I am happy as of now. Ulajh is my first big studio picture film so I hope it does well. We’ve been work- ing on it for a while now. It is an espionage film which has a very interesting visual dialogue so I hope cinematically it is appreciated as well because we’ve tried a few different things and it’s got a lovely colour palette and we’ve experi- mented with the lenses because I was trying to play with the language of how a spy film should look like.
Words Hansika Lohani
Date 19.08.2024